Opioid-affected births to rural residents are increasing in both rural and urban hospitals

10/29/18–The opioid epidemic has had devastating effects on families in rural communities, places where both maternity care and substance use treatment are limited. The characteristics of rural mothers with opioid-affected births are different for those who give birth in rural hospitals and those who give birth in urban hospitals. This finding highlights the distinct clinical and programmatic needs required in each hospital setting to successfully care for rural mothers with opioid use disorder and for rural infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome, no matter where they are born. Read